


Track of the Storm

by allysonandrews1982 (FonzFan82)



Category: Happy Days
Genre: Power Outage, Rain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-20
Updated: 2013-06-20
Packaged: 2017-12-15 14:35:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,394
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/850675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FonzFan82/pseuds/allysonandrews1982
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There is a power outage going on in Milwaukee. Would Fonzie be there to save the day to turn the power back on? Both Al and Chachi are both out of work for the day while the power is out and Joanie does something she's not supposed to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> To those who are Happy Days fans who notice I have cell phones for these characters in the stories, I know it's true they didn't have them in the 1950s on the show but I wanted to update the characters a bit since it's now in the 2000's and I find it easier to write them in character at the age they are now instead from the age they were on the show so I hope you enjoy them at this age like you all did on the show.

That cloudy day in Milwaukee, Arthur Fonzarelli rode his black motorcycle in the rain home. He’d just finished taking a couple girls he’d been seeing back to the high school because they had class but they did wish they could skip their afternoon classes just to hang out with their Italian date. Fonzie arrived to the two – story brick house he was now living in. 

After parking his motorcycle in the driveway and taking his helmet off, Fonzie opened the screen door. He found a tall, red – haired man in his late forties in the kitchen. He slammed the screen door when the two of them heard a clap of thunder. 

“Just in time, Fonzie,” I said. 

“Thanks, Red. I just dropped off my dates at the high school since they had classes this afternoon,” Fonzie said. 

“I’m happy I see one person – my wife,” I told him. 

The next minute or so, before Fonzie or I knew it, the electricity went out. 

“Great,” I said. 

“Can you figure a way to turn the power back on?” I asked him. 

Fonzie didn’t answer me. All he did was stomp his left foot and the power came back on. I was surprised to see this. 

“I don’t get it, Fonzie. How did you do that? Too bad the others missed this,” I said, amazed at what Fonzie had just done. 

He decided not to say anything, so he stayed quiet. I decided to tell our friends what Fonzie had just done. 

“The gang is coming over for supper tonight, Fonzie. Thanks for turning the power back on like that. The gang has to hear this,” I said. 

I could see Fonzie didn’t answer me. All he did was go to the kitchen to grab an apple from the kitchen. 

I watched as Fonzie took a seat on one of the living room couches. 

“Do you want to watch ‘Comeback Kid’ with me, Red?” Fonzie asked. 

“Thanks, but I have to pick up Richie Jr. and Sarah from school in an hour,” I said.

He remembered his younger cousin, Chachi Arcola was working as a private investigator. The phone rang the minute I sat at the computer. I decided to let Fonzie answer the phone. I was right because he heard his voice in the kitchen. I had no idea who it was but I was sure Fonzie would tell me. 

After a second or so, I heard Fonzie put the phone back. He walked into the office.

“Joanie. She said she can’t join us tonight because she has to work tonight.” 

“Okay,” I said, remembering our dark – headed teacher friend. 

I knew my best friend Potsie was coming that night. I was happy to see Potsie taking it easy because last Christmas Potsie had to spend in the hospital because he had an accident and needed physical therapy. 

I remembered Potsie needed about five or ten appointments of physical therapy and then he would be one hundred percent back to normal. I had known Potsie Webber since the two of us had been in school, before we had been friends with Fonzie. Unlike myself and our friend, Ralph Malph, who are redheads, Potsie was like Fonzie who had dark, black hair, and had Fonzie being the oldest of the gang. 

It was now time for me to pick up Richie Jr. and Sarah from school. I got up from the computer and walked into the living room where I found Fonzie watching television. 

“I’ll be back soon, Fonzie. I’m going to the school to pick up Richie and Sarah,” I said. 

“All right.” 

Fonzie watched me leave. The phone rang in the kitchen. 

Fonzie got up and said, “Hello?” 

“Hi, Fonzie. Is Richie there?” Lori Beth asked. 

“He just left, Lori Beth. He went to get Richie and Sarah from school.” 

“Will you tell Richie when he gets back I’m on my way home?” Lori Beth asked. 

“It’s a bit early to come home, isn’t it?” 

“I know it is, Fonzie, but with the power out, we can’t do anything. I’m calling from the cell,” Lori Beth told Fonzie. 

“I’ll tell Richie when he gets back,” Fonzie told Lori Beth as he put the phone back. 

He never thought about the power being out in town but he knew this neighborhood was out for sure except this house. Before he knew it, Sarah, Richie Jr., and I walked into the house a few minutes later. 

“We’re back,” I said. 

“Hi, Red. I have a message for you,” Fonzie said. 

“What?” I asked as he watched Richie Jr. and Sarah head up the stairs to do their homework. 

“Lori Beth called. She said she’s on her way home right now because the power is out,” Fonzie told me. 

“Okay. I can’t wait to see Lori Beth again,” I told Fonzie. 

Fonzie gave me a look. 

The doorbell rang. I answered the door. I saw one of his neighbors from across the street was standing at the door. I remembered her because she lived in the Spanish – style house across the street that dated back in the 1700s. I saw my neighbor wearing a yellow raincoat carrying a candle. 

“Hi, Richie. Sorry if I’m disturbing anything, but I’m not making a social call,” the thin, tall, gray – haired woman named Susan Cash said. 

Fonzie could tell Susan didn’t look familiar to him. 

“What are you here for, Susan?” I asked. 

“I wanted to see if the other houses had their power back on, but so far yours is the only one on. How did you get it back on?” Susan asked. 

I didn’t say anything so all I did was nod my head in Fonzie’s direction.

“You mean to tell me that he turned your power back on? That doesn’t make sense,” Susan told me. 

“Well, it’s true. Tell her you turned my lights back on, Fonzie.” 

“It’s true and he ain’t lying,” Fonzie said to Susan. 

“I still think it makes no sense because the other houses are still dark. If you’re so smart, Mr., why don’t you turn the rest of the neighborhood on?” Susan asked. 

“Hold it!” Fonzie said. 

It caught both my and Susan’s attention. 

“What, Fonzie?” I asked. 

“I just don’t do it for strangers like her,” Susan heard Fonzie tell me. 

I understood what Fonzie meant. 

“Do your phones work, Susan?” I asked. 

“Not the house phone but the cell does. Why?” 

“I was wondering if the other houses have the house phones working because of this storm,” I said. 

“I don’t know. I’ve been at work this morning and came home before it started to rain,” Susan told me and Fonzie. 

I had a thought. I looked in Fonzie’s direction. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Fonzie asked me. 

“If you could turn my lights back on, you could do the same with the rest of the neighborhood,” I said. 

Susan agreed with me and told me she would like to see Fonzie turn the lights back on. 

“You will, Susan,” I said. 

“So, will you do it for the neighborhood, Fonzie? It’s easier this way than to call the electric company,” I said. 

Fonzie said he would. 

“Thanks, Fonzie. I knew you wouldn’t turn my neighborhood down,” I said as they watched Susan leave. 

That’s when the cell phone rang. 

“Hi, Richie,” we heard Potsie Webber’s musical voice say. 

“Hi, Potsie.” 

“I tried calling your house phone just now, but I got no answer,” Potsie said. 

“Don’t you know, Potsie? We’re having a power outage and the lights went out in the neighborhood and also at Al’s. Aren’t the lights out at your place?” I asked. 

I waited for Potsie’s response as he watched Fonzie leave the house. 

“No. I have a flashlight. It doesn’t have much power but it’s the best I can do,” Potsie said. 

He asked about Fonzie. 

“You won’t believe what Fonzie did, Potsie. I wish you and the others were here to see this,” I said laughingly. 

“What did he do?” Potsie asked. 

He hoped this was good. I was trying to find the right words on what to tell his best friend about Fonzie and the power outage. 

“Do the others know about this yet?” Potsie asked. 

“No, they don’t, Potsie. You’ll be the first.” 

Potsie could tell me was still in giggles when he was talking at the same time. 

“You mean Fonzie did something funny?” Potsie asked. 

“I think you might find it funny, Potsie.” 

“You’re only giggling, Richie. You still haven’t told me what Fonzie did that made you laugh.” 

“Sorry, Potsie. I’m not sure if anyone else is going to believe or not, but when the power went out at the house with the rest of the neighborhood, my lights didn’t last very long. Fonzie turned them on again by stomping his left foot,” I said laughingly. 

Potsie couldn’t believe what he had just heard. He didn’t know what to say so all he did was join me in the laughter. 

“You have to show me that, Rich,” Potsie said giggly. 

That’s when I heard the door open. 

“Potsie, I’ve got to go. Lori Beth’s home,” I said, still in laughter. 

The two hung up. 

“Hi, Rich,” Lori Beth said when she walked into the kitchen. 

“Hi, Lori Beth,” I said in between giggles.

“What’s so funny?” Lori Beth asked, finding it hard to kiss me.

“It’s about Fonzie.” 

“Where is Fonzie?” 

“I’m not sure, Lori Beth. I think he said something about dinner and the movies with a few of his dates,” I said. 

That night during dinner, I laughingly told Lori Beth and Richie Jr. and Sarah about Fonzie and the power outage. 

“The minute Fonzie stomped his left foot, the lights came back on. The lights have been on ever since,” I said in giggles. 

“I don’t get it. How can you turn the lights back on with your foot? I’d like to see that,” Lori Beth said. 

“You will next time this happens.” 

When supper was over, Richie Jr. and Sarah were sent to their rooms to work on their homework. 

“Do the others know?” Lori Beth asked. 

“About Fonzie? Only you and Potsie so far,” I said. 

“I hope our lights stay on,” Lori Beth said. 

“So do I,” I agreed. 

One thing Lori Beth and I didn’t know was that the lights would be out that night when the whole family was asleep. 

A little after midnight, Fonzie walked into the dark house. He always came to this house after his dates were over, finding a light house instead of a dark house. He remembered they usually left a light on for him but he wondered why the house was dark. When Fonzie locked the front door behind himself, he found the kitchen clocks clicking back and forth, so it told him this house recently had another power outage while he was out.

Didn’t he just turn the power back on in this abode? He remembered doing so. He didn’t worry about the clocks blinking in the kitchen because he himself was going to bed. 

Upstairs, I was awake and heard Fonzie downstairs. I didn’t bother getting out of bed so I fell asleep again after hearing Fonzie head to the attic.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, Lori Beth and I found the kitchen clocks flashing. We had tried to reset the clocks back to the normal time but we couldn’t. 

“I guess that means I’m out of work today,” Lori Beth said in disappointment. 

“It looks that way, Lori Beth. Don’t feel so bad about this storm. The good part about this storm is you’re with me,” I said with a smile on my face. 

“That’s right. Maybe we could have the group over,” Lori Beth said, thinking of our friends. 

“Good idea. Look how cloudy and dark it is out there. Maybe Chachi can’t work at the office today either,” I said. 

Lori Beth shrugged because she didn’t know what to think about Chachi’s schedule at the law firm. 

Lori Beth and I heard on the radio that morning all schools were canceled because of the storm. 

“You’re home today, Richie and Sarah,” I said after the radio finished announcing schools being shut down. 

Richie Jr. didn’t say anything. He was happy to hear some good news for a change. Lori Beth and I finished putting the breakfast dishes in the sink several minutes later.

They heard my cell phone go off just then. Lori Beth started the sink when I answered my cell. I heard Potsie’s voice on the other end.

“Hi, Richie.” 

“Hi, Potsie. What do you think of this storm?” I asked. 

“It’s something. My flashlight went out last night and now the only light I have is a candle.” 

“Good idea,” I agreed. 

“Lori Beth and I haven’t turned on candles or flashlights yet since we just finished eating. Al’s out of work today. He can’t feed his customers when the storm is like this,” I told Potsie. 

“I don’t blame Al, Richie. I spoke to Chachi a while ago. He’s out of work today too,” Potsie said. 

“I was wondering about that. I mentioned to Al I didn’t know if Chachi was out of work today or not,” I said, “but I’ll tell him what you just told me.” 

“Before I forget, Potsie, Lori Beth invited you and the others over. I know it’s dark and cloudy out there, but what do you think about coming over? You can bring your guitar with you if you want,” I told my best friend. 

“I can make it. I’m not sure about the others. Is your son in school?” Potsie asked.

“School’s canceled because of the storm.” 

“Oh. I didn’t know the storm was going to be this big. I don’t remember having a rainstorm like this before,” Potsie said. 

“Me either,” I agreed.

We talked a while longer and I shut my cell. 

“That was Potsie. He talked to Chachi earlier and said Chachi’s out of work today too,” I told Lori Beth. 

That’s when we saw Fonzie come in. 

“Is it still stormy?” Fonzie asked first thing without saying hello. 

“Yes, Fonzie. It’s raining now. I remember you turning the lights on just yesterday,’' I told him.

“I remember that too, Richie. Do you want me to turn on the lights for you again?” Fonzie asked. 

“Can you try it a second time?” I asked. 

“I’ll see what I can do,” Fonzie said. 

He knew he couldn’t promise it. 

I kept an eye on Fonzie because I wanted to see what he was going to do next.

“Why are you looking at me for?” Fonzie asked. 

“I want to see what you’re going to do with my lights,” I said. 

I hoped they would be on by the time our friends came over. I heard the cell phone ring. 

“Hello?” 

“Hi, Richie,” Potsie said. 

“Hi, Richie. Is your sister still working tonight?” Potsie asked. 

He knew it didn’t hurt to double – check.

“Still working. Joanie said she felt disappointed she couldn’t join us. I called to let you know I’m bringing the guitar and Chachi is bringing the cards. We talked about it this morning who would bring what,’ Potsie said. 

“Makes sense. We’ll see you tonight,” I said as the two friends hung up. 

“That was Potsie,” I told Fonzie. 

“I heard what Potsie said,” Fonzie said. 

“Forget Potsie, Fonzie, and start worrying about my lights. Can you do what you did the first time? That was neat,” I said. 

“Maybe,” he said. 

“Lori Beth, you have to see this,” I said to my wife. 

“I want to,” Lori Beth said.

We both stared in Fonzie’s direction, waiting for him to start. 

“Do what you did before, Fonz,” I said, “then you could do the rest of the neighborhood like we talked about.” 

Lori Beth and I waited for Fonzie to stomp his left foot. 

So Fonzie stomped his left foot again and the lights were back on. 

“See how I’m not lying about the story, Lori Beth?” I asked. 

I looked in her eyes. I saw that Lori Beth couldn’t believe what she just saw. 

“I believe you,” Lori Beth told me, knowing my story was true. 

“Let’s go do the rest of the neighborhood,” I said to Fonzie. 

Lori Beth didn’t mind staying behind. She wanted to hear what the neighborhood thought of the lights turning on the way Fonzie turned them on. Lori Beth watched from the window because she wanted to watch Fonzie turn the rest of the neighborhood on, which she did. It didn’t take me and Fonzie long to get back home.

“We’re back, Lori Beth,” I said.

“I know,” Lori Beth said. 

“What did the neighbors think of Fonzie turning the lights on?” Lori Beth asked. 

“They were surprised but thought lights can’t go on that fast during a storm like this,” I said. 

“True. I watched the lights come back on,” Lori Beth said. 

“I had a feeling you would. Fonzie just left. He’ll be back tonight with the others. He’s bringing some of his girl friends tonight,” I said. 

I could tell Lori Beth didn’t care.


	3. Chapter 3

Later that night, the storm got heavier and the lights didn’t go out again until Potsie, Chachi and Fonzie came to the house. Fonzie was the last to show up because of his dates he had brought over with him. As promised from earlier, Potsie had brought along his guitar and Chachi brought along the cards. 

“We’re here,” Potsie said, getting his guitar from the backseat of his orange convertible.

He had offered Chachi a ride over, which he had accepted. I opened the passenger door for our friend. 

“Thank you, Richie,” Chachi said politely. 

“You’re welcome, Chachi,” I said, closing the door as he walked out of the convertible, cards in hand. 

“Would you like me to carry thee cards for you, Chachi?” I asked as he, Potsie and I were heading up the stairs to the screen door.

“That’s very kind of you, Richie, but I’ve got it,” Chachi told him. 

I opened the door for my friends since they were guests for the evening. 

“Have you talked to Joanie at all today besides her saying she couldn’t make it tonight?” I asked Potsie after the three of them were in the house. 

“No, I haven’t. Why?” Potsie asked. 

“I was curious if she could still come or not.” 

“I spoke with her. She doesn’t have tonight off to join us. She said she wished she had the time to, but this is a big class you just can’t walk away from,” Chachi spoke up. 

“I understand. We’ll get together with Joanie some other time when she’s not so busy,” I said. 

“Good plan,” Chachi agreed. 

At the high school, Joanie was sitting at her desk, going through the paperwork she was asked to do. She didn’t want to be here tonight. She knew she was missing out on something fun at her brother’s and Lori Beth’s house. Everyone was going to have fun without her that’s for sure. 

“And I’m missing out. I’m going to join them,” Joanie said. 

Joanie knew there were a few other teachers around the place. 

“I’m going to Richie and Lori Beth’s. I don’t want to miss out on all the fun. I don’t care if it’s stormy out there. I’m leaving this place,” Joanie said to herself as she went to search for one of the officers. 

“I can trade for another night,” she added to herself. 

She found one officer who was on guard and told him that she had a message for one of the other teachers when he came back. She told the balding, overweight guard to message the teachers she was leaving because one of her friends were having a get – together that night and she didn’t want to miss out and would reschedule her night another night. 

The balding guard told Joanie he would pass the message around. She thanked him and went to get her raincoat and car keys and drove off to my and Lori Beth’s house. One thing the gang didn’t expect that night was an unexpected visit from Joanie. 

Joanie saw while driving to my and Lori Beth’s, the storm once again turned the power off. She found that no surprise at all. After parking into my and Lori Beth’s driveway, Joanie found out their lights were on. She wondered how in the world Lori Beth’s and my house could be the only one with the power on and every business and light were off? It still didn’t make sense to her at all.

Joanie rang the doorbell. Lori Beth carried a candle with her to the front door. Joanie heard a lot of chatting going on before Lori Beth even opened the door. Once Lori Beth opened the door, she had a surprised look on her face. 

“We weren’t expecting you here. Come on in,” Lori Beth said.

“Everyone’s playing games. You’re welcome to join us.” 

“Thanks, Lori Beth.” 

Joanie handed Lori Beth her coat. Lori Beth hung it up with the others. 

“We have a guest, everybody,” Lori Beth said, trying to get her friends’ attention.

We looked up to see who our guest was. 

“Hi, Joanie,” Chachi said lovingly. 

“Hi, Joanie. So you finally came out of work to come here?” Potsie asked. 

“I came on my own,” Joanie told my oldest best friend. 

“Aren’t you sneaky. Why did you do such a thing? Did they let you off the hook?” Potsie asked. 

Before answering, Joanie looked in Fonzie’s direction. Fonzie didn’t pay any attention to her. He had about five teenagers that looked like they were in the eleventh and twelfth grades. 

I thought what Joanie had recently done wasn’t right. 

“We should talk this over, Joanie,” I said. 

“What for? I left a message at the high school with the other teachers to trade a night. I didn’t want to miss out on all the fun,” Joanie told me . 

I could tell she was ahead of me, all right. 

“It still doesn’t sound right to skip out like that, Joanie,” I said. 

“I know, Richie, but I just had to join you guys tonight. If you were like me and working tonight and you had to work at night, wouldn’t you skip work just to join your friends so you wouldn’t feel left out?” Joanie asked. 

Now Joanie had brought Fonzie’s attention. Even his dates were watching her. 

Chachi knew Joanie had a point. 

“I agree with Joanie,” Chachi said, after listening to everything Joanie had just said.

Fonzie had gotten lost because he didn’t know why Joanie was here. He knew Joanie was supposed to be at work tonight. 

“Does the principal know you’re gone?” I asked. 

“I left a message with the guard. I was going to trade nights and I was going to be over here,” Joanie said truthfully. 

I shot Fonzie a look. 

“I ain’t saying anything,” were Fonzie’s very words. 

He meant it, too. 

“Joanie, the principal can fire you for this if he finds out you’re not there,” I told her. 

“I do care about my job, guys, but I couldn’t resist coming over here. I wanted to join in on the fun,” Joanie said, “even if it was my night to work.” 

“We could still get together with you when you’re on your night off. You kind of ruined tonight for us,” I said disappointed. 

“I guess this night will be canceled now that you came here unexpected. Now that you walked out on your job, we are also canceling our get – together night tonight because of what you did with your job,” I said. 

I thought that sounded right but didn’t want to hurt her feelings but I had to do something. 

Joanie didn’t like what I had said and broke into tears. The only thing she could think of right now was going home to bed. Joanie left my house just then without a good – bye. She wasn’t in the mood to say good – bye. 

“Look what you did, Rich. You made her cry,” Potsie said, “even if she did to something wrong.” 

I didn’t respond to Potsie.


	4. Chapter 4

The minute Joanie walked into the office the next morning, the principal was looking immediately in her direction. 

“We need to talk, Ms. Cunningham,” the principal said in a tone of voice nobody liked.

“About what?” Joanie asked. 

She could guess what he wanted to talk to her about, but had no clue if she was correct.

“Last night,” was the principal’s answer. 

“What about last night?” Joanie asked. 

“Last night was your turn to work here, wasn’t it?” 

“Yes, sir,” she said. 

“Well, as it turned out, you didn’t get any of the work done on the paperwork last night. I’m sorry to break the news to you like this, Joanie, but you’ll have to turn in your key. I’d like to have it,” the principal said. 

“You mean now?” Joanie asked. 

“Yes, now. You were supposed to be working on your paperwork last night. What did you do? You up and left for a party with some friends of yours on your work night. What did your friends do about it?” the principal asked. 

“Wait, don’t tell me. I don’t need to know what your friends did to you since it’s none of my business,” the principal told her. 

Joanie said nothing more. 

After that, she left the principal’s office in tears for home. She spent the rest of the day on the couch, watching soap operas. She wasn’t in the mood to chat with anyone on what happened last night or just now. She wanted to forget the whole thing until her friends could forgive her again. 

There was a knock on the door. Joanie lost track of time and saw the time was now 12:00. She wondered where the sun had been this whole time because it was still raining outside. Joanie found Chachi at the door. 

“I can’t stay long, Joanie. I’m on lunch break,” Chachi said. 

“You’re welcome to stay, but I’m not in the mood to talk to anybody right now.” 

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve been crying,” Chachi said. 

“I got fired this morning.” 

“It was because of last night, right?” Chachi asked as Joanie nodded yes. 

“That’s a shame. Do you want me to tell the others for you?” Chachi asked. 

“Please do. I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone right now,” Joanie said, sniffling.

“That’s all right. I guess Richie was a bit hard on you last night because of what happened. I’ve got to go. I’ll stop by on my way home. Some storm, isn’t it?” Chachi asked. 

“Yeah. Makes you wonder when the sun will come back, right?” 

“Right,” Chachi agreed. 

Joanie walked her Italian friend out of the house. She wouldn’t mind being alone for the afternoon. The kids were in school so they were nothing to worry about until later. In between commercials, Joanie watched it pour outside. She knew this was a big – time storm and wasn’t sure how much longer it would last. 

A few minutes later, hail began to happen. After the hail, the power went out. 

“Here we go again,” Joanie said to herself once the house went blank.


	5. Chapter 5

At my house, I was sitting on my desk chair in front of the computer when the power went out.

I got up. I knew what I was doing – looking for Fonzie. He needed him to turn the lights back on for me . I couldn’t find Fonzie anywhere in the house, so I gave up. 

“Where is he?” I asked. 

I knew Fonzie didn’t tell me where he would be and I had a guess so I wasn’t going into town just to bring him back to turn the lights on. 

My guess was that my tenant was in town somewhere, hanging out with his teenage dates. I looked out the window. The rainstorm really picked up now and big time. Both Joanie and I had wondered when this storm was going to stop. I had a thought. I went to my remote control and hit the “ON” button. 

That’s when I noticed I couldn’t find out about the five – day weather forecast on my white Panasonic TV. I had a second thought since electricity was out of the question. I headed for the kitchen table, and sat down in one of the light – brown chairs and carried a flashlight so he could see what the paper said about the weather. I turned the black flashlight to the weather section in the newspaper. I saw it said: Today: Cloudy with rainshowers 40% including hail Tomorrow – partly sunny with wind Thursday – Sunny 66 degrees wind in A. M. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the weather report for the next three days. 

“We’ll wait and see about that,” I said to the newspaper. 

I knew daily forecast was not correct. I knew this as a fact. It made me wonder if the rest of the gang had seen the weather section in the paper. I’ll just have to find out. I heard the door open and the screen door shut. I saw Fonzie was now home. 

“Hi, Fonzie. Did you have fun with your dates?” I asked. 

“You bet I did. We didn’t really do anything because of the power outage,” Fonzie told me. 

“I know. Can you turn the power back on for me again?” I asked. 

“I’ll try.”

Fonzie tried what he’d done before, which was stomping his left foot. That’s when the power came back on.

“Thank you, Fonzie. Did you see the weather forecast in the paper?” I asked. 

“No. What is it?” Fonzie asked. 

I showed Fonzie the weather section. 

“Whoa,” Fonzie said after seeing the paper. 

“I’m not believing it until I see it for myself.” 

Later that afternoon, Lori Beth came home. 

“Hi, Rich, Fonzie.” 

“Hi, Lori Beth,” I returned as me and my wife kissed.

“Hi, Lori Beth,” Fonzie greeted her. 

“I have a question for you,” Lori Beth said. 

“What’s that?” I asked. 

“If we’re having a power outage, how did our lights turn back on?” Lori Beth asked. 

I didn’t say anything, so all I did was look at Fonzie. Lori Beth finally figured it out. 

“So it was you who turned them on again? Thank you, Fonzie. Let’s hope the lights will last longer,” Lori Beth said. 

“Did you see the weather in the paper?” I asked my wife. 

“No.” 

I was happy I was still holding the paper in my hand. 

“Take a look,” I said, showing Lori Beth the paper. 

Even Lori Beth couldn’t believe what she saw. 

“Let’s hope it happens like this tomorrow,” Lori Beth replied. 

Fonzie and I said nothing. Bedtime arrived quickly that night and Fonzie was the last one to go to bed so he turned the lights out. 

Morning arrived. Weather stayed true from what I had seen in the paper the day before. To tell the truth, the power had stayed on. I saw there were no more power outages when I was the first one that morning to turn the lights on. 

“Glad that’s over with.”

I was happy to know me and my friends no longer needed candles and flashlights. That won’t be needed until next time. That’s when both Fonzie and Lori Beth came downstairs. 

“I have news for you,” I told my wife and Fonzie. 

“What’s that?” Lori Beth asked. 

“No more power outage.” 

Lori Beth smiled.

“I’m glad that’s over with. Now we can get rid of these candles and flashlights. We can use them for the next storm.” 

“Whenever that’ll be, Lori Beth. I’m sure the next storm won’t be for a long, long time from now,” I said. 

“I’m sure you’re right. I know one thing – I’m not going to miss this one.” 

“I’m with you,” Fonzie agreed. 

“It’s hard to date when there’s a storm out there and you can’t go to the movies.” 

I came back after putting the candles and flashlights away.

“We won’t need those candles and flashlights until the next storm. Whenever that will be, right?”


End file.
